Chapter 11: Double Touch

Chapter 11: Double Touch

Two goals each. The score was tied, yes, but the game's momentum clearly favored the first team. There's a world of difference between taking the lead only to be caught, and trailing before fighting back to level. Both end in a draw, but the mental states couldn't be more different. While one side fears conceding again, the other hungers for more goals.

"We need to change the game's rhythm," Aran said.

"Just get me the ball. I'll handle the rest," Kiebler replied.

"Won't be that simple. They've been burned twice by you now. Next time they'll man-mark you without caring about the ball."

"So what's the plan?"

The Immortal skill lasted five minutes at a time. If nothing went wrong, they could use it twice more. That meant about fifteen minutes of enhanced play left. But eighteen minutes remained on the clock...

"Stop trying to score for now," Aran decided.

"What? Are you insane?" Kiebler looked both shocked and confused.

"For the next fifteen minutes, don't look for shooting opportunities. Don't try to dribble past anyone. You might get some passes, but don't play any one-twos. Save your energy for the final three minutes and injury time. From now on, switch roles with Julian—let him draw the marking instead."

"...Fine. I don't understand what you're planning, but I trust you." Kiebler nodded and went to explain the plan to Julian.

"What are you two plotting? Fill us in," Klaus and Patrick approached, curious about the hushed conversation.

"Later. The ref's about to restart. I'll explain after we score." Aran's face remained expressionless. Patrick and Klaus exchanged puzzled glances. What was this guy so confident about?

The referee signaled for the restart.

Kiebler touched the ball back to Aran. The moment they crossed the halfway line, Michael's pressing instructions rang out again.

"Rains! Turas!"

Earlier, Aran had struggled when his heart condition flared up unexpectedly. But now, with his body free from all pain thanks to the Immortal skill, he showed no weakness. Aran held possession firmly, playing quick passes with Klaus and Kevin to escape the press.

But the first team's spirits were soaring. When one wave of pressing failed, they didn't ease up—they charged forward with even more determination. Now their entire team had crossed into the opposition half, leaving only two center-backs to guard against long balls. The U23 team kept retreating, eventually passing back to goalkeeper Noah. They couldn't advance the ball at all.

Against high pressing, there are two main solutions: pass the ball around until the opposition tires, or use individual skill to keep possession under pressure.

Right now, the U23 team's confidence was still fragile. Left like this, they'd lose the ball soon. Only one option remained for Aran. He sprinted forward, accelerating toward the penalty area.

"Give it to me—I'll take it up myself!" His confidence was absolute. Noah played the pass immediately.

"I've faced this situation a thousand times!" Aran roared, trying to lift both his own spirits and his teammates'.

Aran pushed his pace to about 70%, driving forward with unwavering focus. Seeing him dribble without looking for teammates, Turas and Rudy quickly closed in to dispossess him.

Double Touch.

Aran's signature move came out. The ball went from right foot to left, evading Rudy's challenge. A split second later, his left foot knocked it into space ahead, dodging Turas's tackle. With this most basic dribbling technique, Aran slipped past both players' press.

Double Touch—or La Croqueta in Spanish—was the most ordinary of fundamental dribbling skills. Even eight or nine-year-olds could do it easily. Though simple, when mastered it becomes one of the most dangerous tools for escaping pressure, even at the highest level. If defenders carelessly kick at the leg without the ball, they'd concede a foul—possibly earning a yellow card too.

This double escape drew cheers throughout the stadium. Watching from the sideline, Jens clicked his tongue and muttered:

"What a waste. Fewer than ten people in the world can use the Double Touch with that level of mastery. And now one of them is about to retire."

Jaeger felt the same sadness. Back when Aran first joined the academy, as a Thai player he was physically weaker than others due to genetics and heritage. The only way he could compete was through relentless skill training.

Simple moves like the Double Touch became the first technique Aran practiced obsessively every day, until it became his signature weapon against other academy players. No matter how many years passed, he never stopped using it, constantly refining it until it reached perfection.

Past Rudy and Turas, he now faced Marcus and Stephen at the halfway line. As defensive midfielders, their defensive abilities far exceeded the previous two. But Aran still held an advantage from his cunning plan that had succeeded in the first half.

"If you're not afraid of fouling, come at me!" Aran shouted his challenge. Marcus and Stephen, who had been closing in, suddenly hesitated. Marcus already had a yellow card from the first half—another foul in this counter-attack could mean a second yellow and a red card. He'd be sent off, leaving the first team to play with ten men.

"Marcus, stay back! I'll stop him myself!" Stephen warned his teammate while charging forward.

But Aran showed no fear!

Stephen's momentary distraction over Marcus's foul situation broke his concentration. Trying to anticipate whether Aran would go left or right with his Double Touch, he didn't notice the space opening up below.

Aran slipped the ball through that gap and ran around. By the time Stephen realized, Aran was already through.

"Bloody hell! A nutmeg! Doesn't he respect his elders at all?" Jens shouted, never expecting to see such audacity.

Despite his own team being outplayed, Jaeger couldn't help but smile and praise his former student:

"Heh, if he was the type to back down from a fight, he wouldn't have lasted ten years here. Doesn't matter who you are—he's ready to embarrass anyone. Fear and intimidation aren't in that man's vocabulary."

Aran successfully passed Stephen. Marcus was still chasing but didn't dare tackle, afraid of conceding a foul and getting sent off.

Aran's long solo run continued across the halfway line. Julian on the right, Kiebler on the left. The opposition's defense had only two center-backs left: David and Boris.

Not counting the goalkeeper and Marcus who was afraid to foul, the situation was now three against two—heavily favoring the U23 team.

Julian made his run into the penalty area, with Boris maintaining loose marking. Meanwhile, Kiebler dropped slightly deeper according to their plan to draw his marker. David, thinking the final pass would inevitably go to Kiebler, followed him out.

Aran passed to Kiebler. David smiled, thinking he'd read it perfectly.

Kiebler turned and feinted to dribble, but instead played the ball back to Aran, who was making a run in the opposite direction. By the time David realized his mistake and tried to leave Kiebler to defend Aran, it was too late.

Shoot or pass? Left or right?

In this crucial moment, several possibilities existed.

But Ulrich wasn't interested in any of them. He had his own method to stop this attack.

Charging forward like a wild horse, he threw himself into a perfectly timed sliding tackle.

Goalkeepers abandoning their line to intercept was still new in football. No matter how experienced or composed a player was, facing this unexpected move would cause panic and mistakes.

But for a man who had traveled back decades in time, this was nothing new.

The instant Ulrich committed to his slide, Aran dodged right by the narrowest margin.

Boris was still occupied with Julian, leaving only an empty goal ahead.

The cheers that had started with the Double Touch grew louder with each spectacular moment, reaching their peak as Aran struck the ball cleanly into the net with his full power.

Aran sprinted to the corner flag, turning with a beaming smile to give his teammates a thumbs up as they rushed over in wild celebration.

The U23 team had taken the lead again!

"Absolutely incredible! A solo run from his own penalty area to score!" Klaus shouted in praise.

"Not just good—that was godlike. We still have hope. We can win this match," Julian agreed, not forgetting to boost team morale.

"Haha, I knew you'd pull out your trump card. But you didn't tell me to stop dribbling and scoring just so you could show off alone, did you?" Kiebler said with a grin.

"Are you crazy? It was part of the plan!" Aran laughed back.

"Alright, time's running short. Enough celebrating. Everyone listen to the new plan."

"Yeah!"

Everyone responded loudly. The U23 team's fighting spirit had returned with a vengeance.